‘Ready for some fun?’
Summer Camp is a 2015 Spanish-American horror film directed by Alberto Marini (co-executive producer of [Rec] and sequels; Sleep Tight) from a screenplay co-written with Danielle Schleif (The Condemned). It stars Diego Boneta, Jocelin Donahue, and Maiara Walsh.
Four young Americans travel to Europe to work as counsellors for a summer camp there.
Before the kids arrive, however, a rage-inducing, demonic disease spread rapidly from animal to person, resulting in the counsellors desperately trying to escape the illness…
On 10 April 2017, Summer Camp was released in the UK on DVD by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.
Buy: Amazon.co.uk
Reviews:
“Moments of obvious foreshadowing and the protagonists occasional lapses in judgment hold Summer Camp back from iconic status, but Marini’s script is one of the most intelligent horror screenplays we’ve seen in some time, throwing in a number of effective twists that naturally develop within the context of the story.” David Opie, Flickering Myth
“Less laudable is Marini’s direction, as he utilizes shaky-cam almost nonstop, to the extent that I suspect it might even give Adam Wingard a headache. He also favors cramped, close-up action, so many of the big attack scenes are little more than a jumbled mess of flailing arms and shouted incidental dialogue like “Go!” and “Shit!” Brian W. Collins, Horror Movie a Day
“Mixing aspects of the camp slasher, zombie flicks, Cabin Fever, Shrooms and Who Can Kill A Child? into a heady homebrew – and a genre jamboree – Summer Camp is always several steps ahead of us, and hilariously mean-spirited to boot. After spending so long hiding in the dark shadows of Spanish genre cinema, Marini has emerged a fully grown, freakily fun guy.” Anton Bitel, Screen Anarchy
“Marini’s camera captures this cinematic environment in it’s beauty even when it’s contrasted by plentiful gore and violence. I found Summer Camp to be a very fun ride from start to finish. It’s got innovation and style that compliment the storytelling well and it kept me enthralled for it’s duration.” Christopher Stewart, UK Horror Scene
Buy: DVD + digital: Amazon.com
“Clearly seasoned in the art of genre, Marini has crafted some impressive jump scares. I refuse to cross over into spoiler territory but every single scare is perfectly timed and utterly unpredictable. Building on his theme of trust, Marini also implements an ingenious plot device which, in the way it is executed, makes Summer Camp feel surprisingly fresh resulting in some incredible character-driven moments.” Jon Dickinson, Scream magazine
“Occasionally, there are some flashes of genuine brilliance that truly highlight just how special Summer Camp could have been. A slight playfulness guides the proceedings but only peeks through a certain times, such as during a wicked, black-hearted climax. Even this, though, doesn’t land quite as well as it could because the characters are so underdeveloped.” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!
“Once it’s sloppy, badly written first act was out of the way, Summer Camp wound up being a gory, funny, mean spirited and fairly ingenious ride. One that took what we know about the “infected” subgenre and used it against us while tagging a fresh twist on it all that gave the whole a much needed boost.” The Arrow, JoBlo.com
“Marini and Schleif take a well used storyline and injected some uniqueness, fun, and excitement. In addition, a surprise ending and plenty of twists and turns keeps the viewer on their toes all the way to the end. Bringing it all together nicely, the acting by the small cast is sharp and they adapt well to the stark changes in scenes and direction.” Robyn Andrew, Cryptic Rock
Watch Summer Camp trailer on YouTube
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